Dr. Joshua Cusick-Lewis Uses Technology to Diagnose Skin Lesions

Josh Cusick-Lewis, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the department of family medicine at West Virginia University’s Charleston Division, is using a relatively new piece of technology to help diagnose skin lesions in order to determine if patients need biopsies or not. Its small, fits easily in a coat pockets, is noninvasive, and is quick to learn to use.  The technology is called a dermatoscope and its use and popularity are growing nationwide, although – according to Dr. Cusick-Lewis -- still not very common among family medicine physicians here in West Virginia. Cusick-Lewis’s said that his use of the dermatoscope in the last 18 months has already saved several of his patients from getting needless minor surgical procedures.   He added that the device also helped to rapidly diagnose a melanoma in another patient, potentially saving his life.